Jose Mourinho beats the retreat in criticism of Manchester United fans

Courtesy: Reuters

Manchester: Jose Mourinho has drawn a line under his recent feud with Manchester United fans and vowed to only make the supporters happy in future.

Mourinho sparked a row with the fans after he criticised them for their voicing dissatisfaction with striker Romelu Lukaku during October`s 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford which saw him fail to score for the fifth successive match.

"I would like the supporters to explain to me why they don`t support him (Lukaku) so much because he gives everything and I think it is not fair when scoring the goal or not scoring the goal makes the whole difference," said the 54-year-old Portuguese at the time.

"So I'm a bit disappointed, but not with him. With him very pleased."

Mourinho also slammed fans for booing when he subbed Anthony Martial in the match suggesting they weren`t proper fans.

Not content with post-match criticism on TV Mourinho then continued his campaign with another pop at the fans when he penned his match programme notes for the following Old Trafford match against Basel in the Champions League.

"I hope tonight we can do just as good a job, take another big step towards the knockout stages of the Champions League and I hope that you enjoy the game more than some of you did against Tottenham," he wrote.

The pointed sarcastic comment didn`t go down well on social media with irate United fans.

They hit back at him and made it known he was out of order having a go at them. Clearly the message has got through to Mourinho.

At his pre-Manchester derby press conference, the Portuguese was asked if the United crowd could be critical against neighbours City in the key top of the Premier League clash at Old Trafford on Sunday.

But he decided against adding fuel to the fire.

"I stop with that," said Mourinho.

"I'm not going to write any more words about it, I`m not going to say any more words about it.

"We are paid to work and to work hard and to give the best we can, not to criticise fans and I`m not going to say any words.

"It is the reality of things. I`m not paid to come here and make any comments or to ask for something from the fans. I am paid to give them happiness which is what I try to do every day."